Attempted DNA extraction from a Rancho La Brea Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi): prospects for ancient DNA from asphalt deposits.

Fossil-bearing asphalt deposits are an understudied and potentially significant source of ancient DNA. Previous attempts to extract DNA from skeletons preserved at the Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, California, have proven unsuccessful, but it is unclear whether this is due to a lack of endogenous DNA, or if the problem is caused by asphalt-mediated inhibition. In an attempt to test these hypotheses, a recently recovered Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) skeleton with an unusual pattern of asphalt impregnation was studied. Ultimately, none of the bone samples tested successfully amplified M. columbi DNA. Our work suggests that reagents typically used to remove asphalt from ancient samples also inhibit DNA extraction. Ultimately, we conclude that the probability of recovering ancient DNA from fossils in asphalt deposits is strongly (perhaps fatally) hindered by the organic compounds that permeate the bones and that at the Rancho La Brea tar pits, environmental conditions might not have been ideal for the general preservation of genetic material

Curating Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities

This is the published introduction to the born-digital, open-access, peer-reviewed *Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities*. More a rationale and scholarly study of both Digital Pedagogy and DPiH in general, this introduces articulates the uses, theory, rationale about digital pedagogy as it has been shaped in U.S. institutions since the explosion of Digital Humanities in 2009. As a separate field now, Digital Pedagogy is built on the generosity of its practitioners, but saving the *stuff* of teaching and pedagogy is difficult. The introduction historicizes this now-published project, its open peer review process, and its development in the early years (starting in 2010) in addition to offering multiple pathways into using DPiH for both experienced practitioners and anyone curious about how to use the 500+ pedagogical artifacts among the 59 keywords. By defining digital pedagogy, articulating the 5 key concepts that surfaced with the creation of this project, and discussing potential obstacles about engaging in Digital Pedagogy (including an enumerated step-by-step process for getting started in using Digital Pedagogy strategies), this introduction invites all levels of engagement. In addition, the introduction provides an analysis of the types of content, contributors, and curators as well as early network analysis about the connections among all of the keywords, curators, and the shared pedagogical artifacts. Finally, the authors assess the project\u27s infrastructure, open access, and open peer review publishing process over the 10 years it took to bring this project to fruition, luckily, right at the moment that all higher education institutions were forced to grapple with a sudden move to online learning during March 2020. The concluding sections discuss the shifting role of published and publisher with this born-digital project and considers the use of new forms of infrastructure for a scholarly work that values pedagogy above all else

Introduction to The State of the Syllabus Special Edition

Positioning the syllabus as a key artifact in the modern academy, one that encapsulates many elements of intellectual, scholarly, social, cultural, political, and institutional contexts in which it is enmeshed, we offer in this special issue of Syllabus a set of provocations on the syllabus and its many roles. Including perspectives from full-time and part-time faculty, graduate students, and librarians, the issue offers a multifaceted take on how the syllabus is presently used and might be reimagined

Network + Publication + Ecosystem: Curating Digital Pedagogy, Fostering Community

We are excited to share our work on Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities (DPiH), which was published on the Humanities Commons in 2020 by the Modern Language Association after almost a decade of work. DPiH is a large-scale scholarly project that presents the stuff of teaching (syllabi, assignments, and resources) through a curated set of keywords such as “Poetry,” “Disability,” “Queer,” and “Annotation,” among many others. For each keyword, a curator or set of curators has selected and annotated ten pedagogical artifacts; created a curator’s selection statement; and presented a list of related resources. With a lengthy introduction to DPiH that historicizes and contextualizes the project, the edited collection, as a whole, presents a broad array of pedagogical practices that engage technology and offer concrete resources to faculty who would like to expand their existing teaching practices. In this piece, we would like to consider how the project, in its design and implementation, challenges existing ideas about scholarship, pedagogy, and our shared ecosystem of scholarly communication

On the efficiency of particle acceleration by rotating magnetospheres in AGN

To investigate the efficiency of centrifugal acceleration of particles as a possible mechanism for the generation of ultra-high $\gamma$-ray nonthermal emission from TeV blazars, we study the centrifugal acceleration of electrons by rotating magnetic field lines, for an extended range of inclination angles and determine the maximum Lorentz factors $\gamma_{max}$ attainable by the electrons via this process. {Two principal limiting mechanisms for the particle acceleration, inverse Compton scattering and breakdown of the bead-on-the-wire approximation, are examined. Particles may be centrifugally accelerated up to $\gamma_{max} \simeq 10^8$ and the main limiting mechanism for the $\gamma_{max}$ is the inverse Compton scattering. The energy of centrifugally accelerated particles can be amply sufficient for the generation (via inverse Compton scattering) of the ultra-high energy (up to $20TeV$) gamma emission in TeV blazars.Comment: 7 pages 5 figure

Individual leader to interdependent leadership: A case study in leadership development and tripartite evaluation

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Sage Publications.The Problem - In this case study we see a move away from orthodox views of school leadership as “headship” to a more contemporary model of educational leadership wherein we note a departure from functional, curricula-based school leadership toward more human resource development (HRD) approaches. The aim of this study was to consider the effectiveness of an educational development program for middle leaders within an educational establishment. The Solution - We examined the impact of a bespoke higher education leadership development intervention in Leadership (and Change) on the formation and cohesiveness of a newly formed innovative leadership structure. The Stakeholders - The leadership development intervention was designed through a tripartite collaboration including a university, senior school leaders, and staff. The intervention was designed to shift leadership from individual leader agency to interdependent human leadership agency. Through tripartite evaluation we uncover leadership development praxis that transcends the boundaries of conventional educational leadership and reemphasizes the benefits of bridging the academic/practitioner divide and the application of theory to praxis

Curating Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities

This is the published introduction to the born-digital, open-access, peer-reviewed Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities. More a rationale and scholarly study of both Digital Pedagogy and DPiH in general, this introduces articulates the uses, theory, rationale about digital pedagogy as it has been shaped in U.S. institutions since the explosion of Digital Humanities in 2009. As a separate field now, Digital Pedagogy is built on the generosity of its practitioners, but saving the stuff of teaching and pedagogy is difficult. The introduction historicizes this now-published project, its open peer review process, and its development in the early years (starting in 2010) in addition to offering multiple pathways into using DPiH for both experienced practitioners and anyone curious about how to use the 500+ pedagogical artifacts among the 59 keywords. By defining "digital pedagogy," articulating the 5 key concepts that surfaced with the creation of this project, and discussing potential obstacles about engaging in Digital Pedagogy (including an enumerated step-by-step process for getting started in using Digital Pedagogy strategies), this introduction invites all levels of engagement. In addition, the introduction provides an analysis of the types of content, contributors, and curators as well as early network analysis about the connections among all of the keywords, curators, and the shared pedagogical artifacts. Finally, the authors assess the project's infrastructure, open access, and open peer review publishing process over the 10 years it took to bring this project to fruition, luckily, right at the moment that all higher education institutions were forced to grapple with a sudden move to online learning during March 2020. The concluding sections discuss the shifting role of "published" and "publisher" with this born-digital project and considers the use of new forms of infrastructure for a scholarly work that values pedagogy above all else

Network + Publication + Ecosystem: Curating Digital Pedagogy, Fostering Community

We are excited to share our work on Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities (DPiH), which was published on the Humanities Commons in 2020 by the Modern Language Association after almost a decade of work. DPiH is a large-scale scholarly project that presents the stuff of teaching (syllabi, assignments, and resources) through a curated set of keywords such as “Poetry,” “Disability,” “Queer,” and “Annotation,” among many others. For each keyword, a curator or set of curators has selected and annotated ten pedagogical artifacts; created a curator’s selection statement; and presented a list of related resources. With a lengthy introduction to DPiH that historicizes and contextualizes the project, the edited collection, as a whole, presents a broad array of pedagogical practices that engage technology and offer concrete resources to faculty who would like to expand their existing teaching practices. In this piece, we would like to consider how the project, in its design and implementation, challenges existing ideas about scholarship, pedagogy, and our shared ecosystem of scholarly communication

The Lantern Vol. 17, No. 3, Summer 1949

• All the Silver in Taxco • The Fall • Parlor Games • Something There Is • Friday Night • Evening • Checker-Board Country • A Noise • Expected Up In Heaven Today • When Time Has Torn My Youth • Impression of Deathhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1048/thumbnail.jp

Fluoroquinolones and the Risk for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Hospitalized Patients1

To determine whether fluoroquinolone exposure is a risk factor for the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus and whether the effect is different for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) versus methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), we studied two case groups. The first case group included 222 patients with nosocomially acquired MRSA. The second case group included 163 patients with nosocomially acquired MSSA. A total of 343 patients admitted concurrently served as controls. Outcome measures were the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for isolation of MRSA and MSSA after fluoroquinolone exposure. Exposure to both levofloxacin (OR 5.4; p < 0.0001) and ciprofloxacin (OR 2.2; p < 0.003) was associated with isolation of MRSA but not MSSA. After adjustment for multiple variables, both drugs remained risk factors for MRSA (levofloxacin OR 3.4; p < 0.0001; ciprofloxacin OR 2.5; p = 0.005) but not MSSA. Exposure to levofloxacin or ciprofloxacin is a significant risk factor for the isolation of MRSA, but not MSSA